An estimated 44% of the children born to chronic alcoholic mothers are mentaly retarded. However, little is known about the neurochemical abnormalities which are present in these children or in the offspring of women who consumed alcohol intermittently during gestation. One likely candidate for a neurochemical cause of the mentioned retardation is a defect in the synthesis or structure of the carbohydrate containing membrane components that are involved in cell-cell interactions and recognition, namely the gangliosides (GA) and glycoproteins (GP). The present study will examine the synthesis of GA and GP in brain, CNS synaptic plasma membranes (SPM) and CNS myelin (MY) subfractions (SF) in the offspring of alcohol-consuming female rats because changes in the synthesis of GA or GP from SPM would be expected to result in altered synaptic connectivity and neural dysfunction. Similar changes in MY-associated GP or GA could effect the subtle interaction/recognition of the oligodendroglial and axonal membranes and result in abnormal CNS myelination. Failure to develop the normal brain gangliosides could indicate the presence of a developmental disorder or neural abnormalities. The major brain GA will be quantitated in the developing offspring (ethanol and control pups) of female rats that have been fed an ethanol or control liquid diet either chronically or for a short period prior to parturition. In addition, the incorporation of 3H- or 14C-labeled precursors into GA and GP of brain, SPM and MY SF will be evaluated by a double-labeled isotope technique, so that the uptake can be studied simultaneously with combined control and ethanol samples. Studies will be performed on control and ethanol pups that have been maintained with their own mothers or cross-fostered.